Why I Can’t Stand to Hear “I Don’t Want to Work For The White Man”: Part II

I am related to a woman who used to be married into a Black racist family (some people say that Blacks can’t be racists but rather bigoted.  That’s another story).  Over the years, her ex-husband’s parents made it clear that they can’t stand White people.  His parents are pretty well off Christians.  Her ex-husband's parents pastored a church, ran businesses and owned a lot of commercial and residential real estate. 

They have so much hostility towards White folks that they said that they don’t want their children to ever work for them.  They experienced a lot of blatant racism and discrimination back in their youth.  So, they didn't want their kids to ever go to White people looking for anything. You know, I don’t condone or agree with their bigoted beliefs but I certainly understand why they don’t like White people.  

I believe that their adult children worked for their businesses, here and there.  But, from what I know, none of the adult children developed the ability and skills to run their own sucessful business. 

The young man who was married to my relative, did not work for most their marriage.  He used that not wanting to work for the White man as a pretext for his laziness.  The couple had children and most of the financial support for the children came from his parents and his wife.  Therefore, the young man is spoiled and doesn’t work because he knows that his family will support him, no matter what.  As I mentioned before, his family has a little financial security.  Maybe, he’s counting on an inheritance after his parents eventually pass on.  Who knows?  

He is still responsible to stand up and be a father to his children. My relative and the young man are divorced now and he can't even pay adequate child support.  I feel that his parents coddled and spoiled him.  He never really learned what it is to be a responsible adult. They poisoned his mind and they are at fault for making this man turn out to be sorry.  Now, his children are going to suffer the consequences. 

It is a wonderful acheivement to build a business and have a legacy to pass down from generation to generation.  In that way, your family won’t have to go relying on the White male dominated establishment for employment and survival.  I agree with some of the philosophies and teachings of Marcus Garvey and Carter G. Woodson, that Black people need to build their communities and become financially and economically empowered. Furthermore, I don’t think that anyone should resign themselves to work for someone else (whether Black, White, Asian or whatever) the rest of their lives. 

Mostly when I hear Black people say that they don’t want to work for the White Man, I think that they are full of shit.  Now, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with a person striving for financial indepedence and owning their own business.  In my experience, the people that I hear say this are using it as a cop-out or pretext for not wanting to work at all.  Some of the men who use this rhetoric would rather rob, kill and sell drugs to people in the Black community than to get a job.  

They say that they don’t want to work for the White man, but I find their words ironic and incongruous with their actions. It would follow logically that you’d want to do something to protect and build your own Black community, rather than destroy it! 


The ideal of not wanting to work for the White man is a little bit foolish because for one, White people created this economic system and government.  White people and Asians own most of the wealth in the world.  In order to come up, most people (no matter what race or creed they are) will need to at least learn how to transact business with White people. Even if you don't ever work directly for them, you still need to learn how to work your way around the system of capitalism and understand how laws are applied in the system of money and wealth. 

Secondly, the minute that you spend money (created by White men) you are already working for the White man without knowing it.  If you use a smartphone, use banking services, shop at a grocery store, buy a car, or a home, then you’re working for "the man".  And, when you spend your money, often times you'll pay a tax to the government. It’s all built into the system and set up that way by design. 


I know that it is hard to work for people that you don't like or for people who don't like you.  However, a better way to think is for people to decide that they don’t want to work for anyone else, regardless of their race or ethnic background.  If you need to work for someone else until you can work for yourself, I see nothing wrong with that.  Take what you can get until you get what you want.  I just think it is stupid to say that you don't want to work for a certain group but not do anything to improve, educate or empower yourself.